Must-read romantic suspense: ‘Desperate Girls’ by Laura Griffin

Must-read romantic suspense: ‘Desperate Girls’ by Laura Griffin

Laura Griffin kicks off her new Wolfe Security series with a bang with Desperate Girls. It’s an addictive combination of romance and suspense, with great character development, exciting pacing and just plain ol’ great writing. There’s courtroom drama, a serial killer, pursuit of an escaped convict and a killer twist at the end!

“I’m hiring protection,” Reggie said. “The best money can buy.”

“Bodyguards?” She blinked at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

As a former Marine and Secret Service agent, Erik Morgan is accustomed to crazy hours and life on the road. It’s lonely, but his work is important and not something he ever dwells on. So when he meets Brynn Holloran, a defense attorney and his latest charge, she throws him for a loop. Brynn is confident and smart and fearless in the courtroom … but her personal life’s “a wreck.” She has trust issues, and after the murder of her friend and mentor, Judge Jen Ballard, Brynn is even more wary of ceding control to Erik’s team at Wolfe Security. Compounding Brynn’s stubbornness is the fact she’s beginning a new high-profile case in Dallas — and her current client (whom she believes is innocent) is depending on her to save his life.

He heard the determination in her voice, and he had to respect it. He also respected that she had the guts to take on such a high-pressure case. The stakes were high, which meant stress for her, which Erik understood, because his job was high-stakes, too. They both operated in a world where their performance had life-and-death consequences. So many people didn’t.

Jen Ballard led the prosecution team that convicted and put away James Corby, a serial killer, a couple years ago. Too many facts overlap for Jen’s murder to have occurred on the same day Corby escaped from maximum-security prison for it to be a coincidence, so Reggie Gunn, Brynn’s boss, hires Wolfe Security to protect her and Ross Foley (who was also on Ballard’s team). It takes Brynn a long time to come around to the fact the threat is very real, and Reggie wasn’t being an overprotective drama queen. But the violence piling up around her makes it unavoidable: She’s receiving notes like Jen, her motorcade is shot at on the way to the courthouse, and Ross is stabbed by Corby. Remember: Brynn is skeptical, not stupid. Knowing she’s next on the retribution list is the ultimate wakeup call.

“I’ve been kidding myself. All this time.” She looked at him, and the vulnerability in her blue eyes put a pinch in his chest. It was such a contrast to her usual brash confidence.

“I thought maybe it wasn’t him.” She shook her head. “I know—crazy, right? Who else would it be? But I didn’t want to believe it. And I didn’t, not really. Not until they said that about him cutting her.”

“People don’t want to believe threats against them are real,” he said. “I see it all the time. It’s a natural response.”

The longer Brynn and Erik are together, the stronger their attraction for each other grows. The forced proximity and dangerous situation push them together quicker than if they’d met by chance at the grocery store, but it also ratchets up their emotional responses. Brynn desperately tries to focus on the case she’s trying, because an innocent man’s life is at stake — but she’s drawn to Erik, who is a distraction. Erik is trying to keep Brynn safe in the courtroom and all points in between, but he’s also trying to pursue Corby, who continues to elude the U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement. The combination of everything is combustible, so much that he crosses the line and gives in to their mutual attraction for the first time in his career. It’s no slight blurring of his professional ethical line … it’s a magnificent obliteration of it.

Griffin’s background in journalism is evident in the tight narrative, snappy dialogue and efficient pacing of the story. This is going to be a great series!

Dolly R. Sickles is a lifelong Southerner with a penchant for storytelling. She writes romances as Becky Moore and children’s books as Dolly Dozier. While she loves to read just about anything, romantic suspense is her kryptonite. When she’s not adventuring around the world with her husband and son, she teaches writing classes at two local community colleges and works on her own books. Follow her on Twitter (@drsickles) and Goodreads (dolly_sickles).